Today is the day we check out of the Holiday Surf Hotel and spend a lot of time at the airport for our late night flight towards home. For the first time on this trip we have rain. The rainfall intensity on parts of the island has triggered Flash Flood Warnings. Because the hotel lobby opens onto the main road we'll have to wait for our shuttle out on the side street. Could be interesting.

Will pause here for now and pick up again at the airport - perhaps.

Didn't get to add anything. The shuttle was early and picked us up at 10:50. The driver stopped at a 7/11 for a bite, we should have taken up his invitation to pick up some lunch too. Before long we were dropped off at the Air New Zealand check-in. We knew we were not going to check-in luggage for the 22:00 flight just yet.

Set off to find somewhere to sit and find some food and a drink. Not likely. Whatever facilities exist in this third-world airport are on the other side of the check-in and security. After walking back and forth we finally found a Starbucks Kiosk where two sandwiches a coffee for me and a juice for Jenny set us back over $30. We stayed in their outdoor setting - there's no air-conditioning this side of the terminal, until we felt we'd exceeded our welcome. Wandered some more with all bags on a trolley ($5 - but at least no time limit) and found some reasonable seating outside the airport administrative offices. We sat there and sat there leaving only to find the restrooms. One of the security guys admitted that the airport was "not very user friendly", bit of an understatement !!

We'd been advised that the Air New Zealand desk should open four hours before departure.

So with nothing better to do started a queue at the check-in desk at 17:45. As the expected opening time there was no sign of activity and no other passengers lined up behind us. At about 18:30 another family arrived, they'd been told that the departure time had been put back an hour. With nowhere better to go we stayed sweltering in the heat and humidity. Happy Travellers ?? No, not really.

Just after 19:00 the check-in process started and there was a surprise in store. Air New Zealand luggage allowance is one checked bag per passenger. Yes another US$ 100 to get that third bag home. Bags checked in we head to the security screening where for the first time in ages I'm the one pulled aside for the extra drug tests. They focused on my laptop for some reason. No drama and we're through to search for our departure gate. Turn Right and walk past many shops, all closed. We find the departure gate lounge - closed until after the arrival of the incoming aircraft only another three hours to wait.

Jenny heads off to look for some food and drink and returns with some Burger King 'goodies'. It appears that the other end of the terminal is still operational to cater for United and Delta late flights.

The departure lounge is much cooler and had been closed for some time so it was like stepping into a refrigerator. Over the next hour the lounge fills up and about 22:45 we commence boarding the Boeing 767. Looks like our luck has changed we have seats in an emergency exit row which provides easier access and more leg room. It is close to midnight by the time we take off.